Bringing a Series Back to Life

I am so pleased to welcome Victoria Hamilton back to Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. A lot of you remember her from her Merry Muffin Mystery series. And now, she's here with great news!!! (Don't miss her giveaway!)

A couple of years ago many cozy mystery series were orphaned when Berkley decided against renewing contracts for them. My Merry Muffin Mystery series was one of those, and for a while I wasn’t sure if I should continue it, or just move on. But I love writing it so much I just couldn’t let go, so… Merry Wynter and the gang are back in 2019!

I have found a new publisher for them, Beyond the Page (who also publish my Vintage Kitchen Mystery series) so they will be available in ebook AND paperback formats! If you haven’t read the series yet, check out my website to start with the first book, Bran New Death.

Muffin But Trouble, #6 in the series, will be coming out in the late spring. Much has happened in the year since we last checked in on Merry Wynter of Wynter Castle and her eclectic crew of friends.

To celebrate, I whipped up a batch of savory muffins, great to pair with soup or stew!

Savory Herb and Smoked Cheddar Muffins

Makes: 14 – 16 (I made 12 regular and 6 mini two-bite muffins!)

Ingredients

• 2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
• 1 – 1 ½ cup smoked cheddar cheese (coarsely grated) OR use any melty cheese, like Monterey Jack. *I considered a jalapeno Monterey Jack, and may do so next time to serve these muffins with chili. In that case I may also add a ¼ teaspoon of chili powder to the muffins for a zesty go-along flavour!
• Up to a ¼ cup of fresh herbs: you could use parsley, rosemary, thyme, or dill (chopped), or whatever blend of herbs you prefer. If you are using dry herbs, use less. *What I used: I rummaged in my winter garden and got some rosemary and thyme. The parsley was frozen, though, so I used a tablespoon of dried parsley to substitute. That made three tablespoons, altogether, two fresh, one dried.
• 1 large egg
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil OR melted butter
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk or substitute. (I NEVER have buttermilk on hand, so, to make a substitute, put 1 ½ tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup, then top with fresh milk to make 1 ½ cups.)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Whisk thoroughly.
3. Add the grated cheese and chopped herbs to the flour mixture and mix.
4. Mix the egg, vegetable oil, and buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) in a separate bowl, then combine with the dry ingredients using a large spoon or spatula. Mix just until no flour is visible. Do not overmix.
5. These muffins will stick to paper liners (unless they are special parchment baking liners) so just use a muffin tin and spray liberally with oil! And I do mean liberally. *What I use… I have a pump oil sprayer that allows me to use regular vegetable oil. I just love it! As long as I have oil in the house, I have spray oil.
6. Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups. *What I did extra: I cut more cheese into half centimetre cubes (who ever gets enough cheese?) and studded the muffins with five or six of the cubes, pushing them into the batter lightly, but so they were still showing.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Run a butter knife around the muffins while they are still hot to loosen them from the pan. This is vital! Because of the cheese they will stick, otherwise. I was gentle, and they loosened and lifted out quite nicely.

These muffins came out wonderful, with a bready texture, heavenly smell, and crispy crust. They go great with homemade soup, like a Cream of Cauliflower or Tomato! Because it’s just after the holiday season I paired them with my homemade turkey vegetable soup and they were delish!

Giveaway

To celebrate the upcoming revival of the Merry Muffin Mysteries, I’m happy to give away a $25 Amazon gift card to a commenter here! Do you like muffins? Tell me what kind, and enter to win!

About the Merry Muffin Mystery series:

Merry Wynter didn’t know a lot about her family until she finally made her way to take possession of her inherited castle near the town of Autumn Vale, in upstate New York. Though she intended to do a quick fix and put it back on the market, she realizes if she is ever going to find out her family history on the Wynter side, this is the place to do it.

  Baking muffins, investigating murders, making friends... and enemies... among the quirky residents of Autumn Vale, keeps Merry busy, and local Sheriff Virgil Grace keeps her heart rate high. Though the widowed Merry still carries a torch in her heart for her late husband, photographer Miguel Paradiso, maybe there is enough room there for a new flame?

  With her wonderful friends Pish Lincoln and Shilo Dinnegan, who have joined her at the castle, Merry is starting to find it hard to imagine leaving the ancestral home of her Wynter ancesters. If folks wouldn’t keep getting murdered, it would be pretty much perfect!

Visit me (Victoria Hamilton) at my website, VictoriaHamiltonMysteries.com and sign up for my newsletter, or find me on Facebook!